Finishing

That’s our Bell.

I didn’t take this picture.

I stood back from the fence and cried, quietly.

The overwhelming knowledge of what God had done for our daughter brought tears and smiles.

(I also hugged a lot of people right after the race. I might have been excited.)

She has put in so many hours of training to reach this point.

And what really gave me more joy than any medal was her reaction.

She signed, “I love you, Jesus.”

-gasp-

Nothing compares to watching our children serve Jesus, because of their own personal relationship with Him.

And God wasn’t finished blessing her.

And she wasn’t the only one blessed yesterday.

God blessed one of the boys on our team with taking 1st in the javelin with a throw of 172.1 ft.

The only other girl to make State on our team took 2nd in the shot put and 2nd in the disc.

Two of our other boys ran.

One took 2nd in the 400, with a personal best of 51.83.

The other took 7th in the 800, with a personal best of 2 minutes 6.02 seconds.

Our boys’ relay teams were able to take 4th and 5th in the 4×1 and 4×4.

And they haven’t been arrogant or prideful.

They have simply done their very best.

Considering our track team has 13 students we were absolutely abundantly blessed even to get to State.

And since many of those students are finishing their high school careers it is such a high point to end on.

Our Bell won’t run high school track again.

She is finishing her high school career and moving on to college.

As I watch each of these young people move into the next level of their lives I’m praying.

Dear Jesus,

Place Your hand on each of these athletes. Continue to guide them in their walk with You and in life. Please speak to their hearts and their minds about everything You have for them. Carry them through the tough times and train them for what lies ahead. Please place others around each one who will encourage, strengthen, and walk with them. Please continue to shine out of them for Your glory. And thank You so much for giving each and every one of them to our families and our community. May they never walk away from You.

Run

I know,
they don’t look like running shoes.

Yet,
as I strap these on,
it is with the understanding,
that the race is about to begin.

No I’m not running the 100,
200, 400, or longer,
it’s the relay.

I am holding the baton,
and each day I strive to pass it on to the children in my life.

Yet as I run I understand that I won’t really know if they take hold or if they drop it.

Because the baton is a life relationship with Christ and the race is towards eternity.

I can not read the hearts of those I wish to inspire.

I can only pray
and run.

For in this race it’s not about scoring the best time,
it’s about following Christ throughout.

I once heard a radio program where the woman speaking said something like:

How fast you run towards Jesus in your daily life often can be measured by who is running beside you.

She went on to speak about how the slower runner,  only putting in a three quarter effort to run towards Jesus will cause the runner beside them to run with the same passion.

But the runner who is giving the race their all inspires those around them to do the same.

I was convicted.

Was I running with everything I had?

No.

But since then I’ve been working,  training, and looking for running partners who are giving it their all.

And I’ve noticed that as my pace picked up others have been running beside me, looking for the encouragement to run the race.

So,
I look to pass the baton by daily encouraging those around me.

I’m strapping on my heels,
giving the race my all.

Because the Apostle Paul put it perfectly.

“…Run in such a way that you may obtain [the prize].” 1 Cor. 9:24